11/19/2003 Immerse yourself ; Learn another language as an adult
Kelly Westhoff
Peggy will do it, Kenneth smiled, pointing to the woman on his left. Each class he volunteers her to go first.
Usually Kenneth is heckled into taking the turn; you can't volunteer someone else and not expect to pay. But this week Peggy steps up to the task. She nods. "Okay, I'll go first."
The other members of the class lean forward, listening intently to see if she will make it through the list of vowels sounds on the board, pronounce them all correctly.
When she does, the other students smile and clap softly. "Wow," they say, "Good job."
This group of adults at the Phât Ân Temple in Roseville meets every Sunday morning for two hours. They are here to learn Vietnamese‹a grueling task considering the language has upwards of 50 different vowel tones. At times, the vowels alone seem insurmountable, but the 14 members of this class show up Sunday after Sunday, week after week. Most are learning Vietnamese for personal reasons. Some are married to a Vietnamese man or woman. Others see the class as a way to reconnect with their cultural roots, a chance to clarify the language they learned by ear at an early age from elders at home.
Mai Yang, a woman in her mid-twenties, was drawn to the language by friends who are Vietnamese. She was also interested in expanding her own cultural knowledge. Once class started, however, she discovered that Vietnamese is nothing like her first language, Hmong. For Yang, the biggest hurdle in learning another language is that everything is new all over again. "You're completely in the dark," she said.
But she keeps coming back.
Why? She smiled widely. "It's a challenge."
Yang is eager to tackle the challenge, but many adults linger long over the decision to sign up for a language class. Learning a second language is something many of us aspire to, but we tell ourselves it's too hard, or it takes up too much time, or we're too old to learn a new language.
"Fear is our greatest inhibitor," cautioned Arlene Jullie, the author of Quick-Start Spanish: Everything you Need to Know Before You Start or Restart Spanish (McGraw-Hill, 2000). A connoisseur of languages, Jullie teaches Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese to adults. Jullie runs the language classes through her Eden Prairie company, Demystifying, Inc. "Adults avoid learning a new language," she said, "because they don't want to fail. We know how, as adults, to control our environments. We don't like to get involved in things if we think we might not succeed."
Apprehension keeps many adults from a second language, agreed Eric Damien, executive director of Minneapolis's Alliance Française, the local chapter of a worldwide organization dedicated to promoting the French language and the cultures of Francophone nations. It is scary, he explained, for a business executive who is used to being knowledgeable, admired and in control to attend language class and be challenged.
"It is difficult to learn something new," Damien said. "And language is interactive. You can't withdraw. You have to participate. Psychologically, that can be very demanding."
Learning and remembering new sentence structures and vocabulary is demanding. But the way in which second languages are taught today may also throw many adults for a loop.
No English spoken here
Today, the standard method of language instruction is called immersion. Immersion, many experts agree, is the best way for both children and adults to learn a second language. A language teacher who uses the immersion method guides students through activities strictly in the targeted language‹that means no English. Students‹adults included‹are encouraged to play in Spanish, French, German, Japanese or whatever the language may be.
In language classes across the Twin Cities, adults are intimately involved in a second language through songs, raps, role-plays and games like Simon Says. Adult language students draw pictures, shake maracas, sit on the floor and wear silly hats. They plan, write and perform their own skits. The goal is to devise situations in which students must use the new language in a fun environment. Immersion attempts to recreate for adults the way in which we learned our first language as a child. If students learn new words within the context of a larger situation, the theory goes, this increases the chance they will remember those new words.
There is a common perception that children learn languages faster than adults, and language teachers across the board will tell you they most certainly do. Marnie Jochems, vice president of development and training at the University Language Center in Minneapolis, oversees the organization's language teachers for both youth and adult programs. Learning languages, she said, is simply what children do. Children, she noted, are still in the process of learning their first language, so it stands to reason that their brains are more readily open to new vocabulary. When it comes to language, Jochems said, "Children are uninhibited. They are little learning machines."
Pointers for starters
But for the inhibited adult, an immersion language class may at first be overwhelming. Before registering and paying for a 10-week language class, check out local options and ask to visit a class in session. The University Language Center sponsors an open house four times a year in which interested adults can tour classrooms and try out a short immersion class. Community education programs across the metro area offer a wide range of language classes, often at very reasonable rates. For those who are just starting out, a community education class can help build confidence before heading into an immersion setting.
For those who already have a workable knowledge of a second language, conversation groups are a good way to reinforce rusty or budding skills. Conversation groups work well because they give language learners an opportunity to hear a second language spoken by someone other than a teacher. Often, noted Jochems, students get so used to the particular language patterns of their teacher that they have a hard time understanding anyone else's pronunciation. It's a challenge to adjust to the numerous voices, tones and speaking styles that a conversation group brings together. Jochems advised any curious participants to bear in mind that "understanding always precedes production."
In other words, don't leave after a half-hour. Stick it out. Go back a few times. Allow your ears and brain some time to acclimate to the group. It could very well take a few weeks before you feel comfortable and confident about speaking in a conversation group.
Another option for brushing up on conversation skills is to participate in a language exchange that pairs two people who are each learning the other's native language. The participants agree to "swap" their language know-how by spending a half-hour speaking in one language, and a second half-hour speaking the second language. Each offers the other pointers and tips on pronunciation and vocabulary.
Trusty excuse is rusty
As it turns out, there are so many ways and places to learn a second language in the Twin Cities, it's hard to find an excuse for not taking the plunge.
But wait. Your memory is failing? You have trouble remembering words in English, let alone in French? You are just plain too old to pick up a little Spanish?
Nonsense, said Jochems. "Age is not an inhibitor. That is a myth." In fact, she explained, "The more you engage your brain, the less likely you are to have memory loss."
Jullie agreed, and suggested that if the brain is busy, it doesn't have time to forget. "Use it or lose it," she chimed.
In fact, Damien has noticed that retirees attending classes at Alliance Françiase are often pleasantly surprised by their ability to remember. Often retirement-aged students retain vocabulary more quickly simply because they have the time to look over homework and make flashcards, he pointed out, whereas students in their thirties are so busy with career, family or school that language class takes a back seat.
In other words, old age is no longer a good excuse.
"Everybody says that they are too old," Damien added. "But I've never heard of an adult that wasn't able to learn anything."
